President Nord Hotel, Brussels

Advantages: Beautiful hotel and great value
Disadvantages: Not too near the city centre

...The Renaissance Hotel in Brussels forms part of the Renaissance chain of Hotels which in turn is owned by Marriott. I stayed at this hotel whilst on holiday in Brussels in August 2003 and found the hotel to be really good value in Summer (as all the business people are on holidays so the best time and cheapest time to visit Brussels is this time of year!) The room: The hotel bedroom that we had was well furnished and came with two Queen size beds, although room are available with one larger King Size bed. The room had a TV with satellite TV and a few okay English channels including BBC World. It also came with the usual trapping such as hairdryer, in room safe (very useful for passports and money!) as well as an iron and ironing board and trouser press. If you are here on business there is a large desk with ISDN line... Read review

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Advantages: Convenient location near the city centre, very good breakfast
Disadvantages: Not very nice rooms with no view, the bathrooms are not very nice

...Well I don't know whether I should recommend this hotel or not.... Basically, if like us, you are given the option of staying in this hotel as part of a special deal, then go for it; but if you have to pay full price for the room, then just stay away from it! We ended up in this hotel as part of a wonderful 2 for 1 package in February which included eurostar travel from London to Brussels and one night at the hotel - all for just 120 pounds for the two of us!! So having paid that little, I find this hotel exceeded my expectations. The hotel receptionist was ok but not incredibly friendly and did not smile very much. The staff in general were helpful but not overly friendly. To get to our room in the top floor, we had to use a lift that was not very nice, actually it reminded me of hospital lifts... Read review

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Advantages: easy to get to
Disadvantages: therefore full of Brits

...First I'm not going to give you a rundown of all the sights, nor a geography lesson. There's stacks of guides that can do that, and some other excellent Reviews on CIAO What I hope to do is leave you with a taste of the place, so you can decide if its for you Over many years of european travel, I have given Bruxelles a wide berth. Firstly beause when I have passed through it seems dirty, dull and too often raining. Its like France Lite, and there are more appealling places to go on to I also remember a family camping holiday when we drove through Charlroi, which isn't far away, and I recall heavy industry and greyness everywhere (PS some airlines go to Bruxelles/Charlroi and you'll face a long hike in a bus) Once I dipped my toe in and whilst waiting for a connecting train, took the short hop to Bruxelles Central (which makes... Read review

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